By Michael Devlin

When Kilcoo appointed the services of Mickey Moran last November, it was a statement of intent from the Down club. To become the best club in Ulster, you need the best club manager in Ulster.

The highly decorated Moran had just guided Slaughtneil to four Derry titles in four years, as well as three Ulster titles and two All-Ireland finals.

He, and fellow Derry men Conleith Gilligan and Paul Devlin as his backroom team, were inheriting a Kilcoo side that had won six Down championships in a row before a seventh was denied by Burren in last October’s county final.

The record was set straight though as the Magpies returned to the winning enclosure after seeing off a valiant St. Peter’s Warrenpoint in the Down decider last month.

When training got going back 11 months ago, Ballinascreen native Devlin was fully aware of the ambition in the Kilcoo dressing room, and the standards expected around the club.

“We came in this year to a supremely motivated group of players, a driven club, their lives are based around their football unit. I think a lot of people in Down and around Ulster had felt that this Kilcoo team had been around that long, that they’d missed the boat and hadn’t taken their opportunity.

“There was a serious drive and ambition, and they genuinely felt that not getting over the line last year against Burren was the kick up the backside that they needed, so it was a case of refocusing. The boys have bought into everything that Mickey has brought to them so far.

“I suppose a lot of people looking in from outside Down would have maybe felt that the county championship was Kilcoo’s to be losing. We would have had a fair knowledge of Down football, there were other very capable football teams in the county.

“A prime example would have been Warrenpoint in the final, whereby again a lot of people would have just thought it was a penalty kick and it was a Kilcoo victory. We scraped it by a point, and to be honest, we saw Warrenpoint earlier in the year, and we felt they would be a serious danger.”

With the likes of Slaughtneil, Scotstown and reigning provincial champions Gaoth Dobhair all absent from the running in Ulster this year, and other big hitters such as Crossmaglen Rangers and Trillick having taken their bow in the quarter-final stage, Kilcoo are now bookmakers’ favourite for the title ahead of tomorrow’s semi-final with Fermanagh champions Derrygonnelly Harps.

Finalists in 2012 and 2016, the assumptions that the Magpies would then be a shoo-in for that elusive Ulster victory are ill-founded however, according to Devlin.

“When a club wins so many county championships on the trot, expectations are high every season, and I suppose there was pressure from our perspective. First and foremost, it was about reclaiming that Down championship. We had set our sights no further, that was the priority, and obviously now we have managed to do so.

“I suppose it’s well-known Kilcoo have been there and thereabouts in the Ulster club for quite some time and never got over the line. There’s no reason to think we will be any closer this time. It’s open, it’s a semi-final with the opportunity to get into a final, and basically that’s the way we are looking at it.”

A Dylan Ward goal on the 51st minute was the crucial score that steered Kilcoo to a narrow 1-12 to 0-14 victory in the county final, with the team having to call on every ounce of their considerable big-game experience to win back the Frank O'Hare Cup.

Their opening Ulster tie with Derry champions Magherafelt O’Donovan Rossa also required Kilcoo to rely on their nous to get the winning result.

They led by just a point after a cagey opening half hour, but went on a 1-5 to 0-2 scoring run in the third quarter, with Jerome Johnston, Eamon Branagan and the evergreen Conor Laverty pulling the strings.

They then had to withstand a fightback in additional time with a disallowed goal from Magherafelt’s Simon McErlain and their goalkeeper Martin McCourt pulling off a great save from Emmet McGuckian.

“There were some scares towards the end of the game against Magherafelt, but there was a spell of 15 minutes in the second half I just thought was scintillating football. We blew them away, and just really showed what we’re capable of.

“Throughout the year, we’d shown patches of that level of performance, so as we move forward and to get over Derrygonnelly on Sunday we’re going to need a complete performance.

“They really do possess a quality that I would refer to as grit. It can’t really be coached. Our more experienced players have been key for us no doubt, but we finished the county final with three minors on the pitch, with another a day out of the minor age group.

“That shows these boys are just made of the right stuff, it’s all driven into them within their club, and it’s a great characteristic to have.”

Tomorrow it is Derrygonnelly at Armagh’s Athletic Grounds, they themselves coming off the back of a quarterfinal win that required considerable fortitude. They battled admirably with Tyrone champions Trillick to the point where penalties were needed to find a winner, and held their nerve in the shootout to take their place in the last four.

Devlin believes the circumstances of such a win can only have a positive effect on the Harps’ team spirit.

“I think as much as the Derrygonnelly players might have played down the fact that they didn’t realise it was going to penalties, I think every team going into the club competition is aware that would happen. The nature of the competition is generally tight, chances were that games would be decided to on those terms.

“I think most people would have fancied Trillick to come past Derrygonnelly, and even been favourites to beat us, so that puts a different slant on how we view Derrygonnelly.

“Ultimately, it was a huge one for them against their neighbours, and the way they did it, it may have given them an extra spring, to have come through in extra difficult circumstances. They’ll be buoyed by that.”